Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s homebred Golden Tempo had his final timed drill for the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve Friday morning under Ameth Gonzalez over a fast track at Keeneland.

Working inside of Grade 2 winner and $2 million earner Brilliant Berti, Golden Tempo clocked the half-mile in :47.40 while finishing on even terms with his stablemate.

Click here for a video of the work.

“He’s had different company, and he’s outworked each one,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said. “This was just a maintenance work and Brilliant Berti is a pretty good workhorse and he’s older. We didn’t want him (Golden Tempo) doing too much in the work and the gallop out. We have had great luck with our stable prepping here then going over to Churchill Downs.”

Today’s exercise was the fourth Keeneland work for Golden Tempo, who has not raced since finishing third in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 21.

“He has matured both physically and mentally a lot,” DeVaux said. “By design, we let him have the four weeks in between races and then we had six weeks (at Keeneland), so that we could do a little bit more with him. He was always a heavier horse and took a while for him to really shape up physically, and we’re there now. He has really improved in that respect.”

Golden Tempo will leave Keeneland Saturday at 7 a.m. in advance of the 11 a.m. deadline for all Derby horses to be at Churchill. He will be DeVaux’s first starter in the race.

“I was actually thinking this morning (that) my first foray from going from Saratoga (Springs, New York), where I had went to college and lived, was to Churchill, and I was 22 years old,” she said. “This morning while I was driving in, I just tried to remind myself that when I was 22, how much fun it looked and how I hoped one day to be a part of it. I have been at Churchill many years leading up to the Derby. So I’m really just trying to focus on the positives and just take it all in.”